Crews Work to Keep Wildfires Small in West Central Colorado (06-29-12)

Montrose, Colo. – Local fire resources have been responding to several fires within the Montrose Interagency Fire Management Unit (MIFMU) during the past few days. Fire crews have been aggressive in responding to these fires, and have thus far been successful at keeping them small.

On Thursday, June 28th at approximately 2:15 p.m. fire crews received a report of a wildfire burning in Hinsdale County approximately 3 miles NW of Lake City. The Crystal Lake Fire is estimated at 0.25 acres at this time. Currently, four (4) Smoke Jumpers and an Incident Commander (ICT4) are assigned to this fire. The fire is burning on National Forest System lands in a spruce/fir forest type. Smoke may be visible at times in Lake City, as well as along Hwy 149 travelling N to Lake City.

Current fire information for the Montrose Interagency Fire Management Unit is available by calling a recorded message at (970) 240-1070. You can also follow MIFMU on Twitter (@MIFMU).

The BLM manages more than 245 million acres of public land, the most of any Federal agency. This land, known as the National System of Public Lands, is primarily located in 12 Western states, including Alaska. The BLM also administers 700 million acres of sub-surface mineral estate throughout the nation. The BLM's mission is to manage and conserve the public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations under our mandate of multiple-use and sustained yield. In Fiscal Year 2013, the BLM generated $4.7 billion in receipts from public lands.